Avengers Soulmates Snipets
by Aqua Are
Summary: Borrowing ideas from amusewithaview and ozhawk in the concept of how soulmates meet. So, lots of soulmate meetings, bizarre settings, fluffy ideas and different kinds of soulmarks. We'll see what comes of it, yeah? I accept requests, just ask.
1. Chapter 1

So, I've wanted to do something like this for a while but I didn't have a concept that attracted me enough. And then, just the other day, I read this amazing piece of work from ozhawk called Soulmate Shorts (which is not finished, so the fun continues for a while yet) and then from there this other one from amusewithaview called Write love on my skin. And I couldn't help it, so many ideas running around, I HAD to do something!

So here we are. I'm a very liberal person, so I have a lot of plotbunnies of every kind and the most bizarre ideas. I like monogamy, polyamory, asexuality, homosexuality, heterosexuality, pansexuality, transexuality... so just take a look to see if you like anything. I'll try not to disappoint.  
Right now I have a few shorts thought with the Avengers and Agents of SHIELD, maybe later I'll expand onto other Marvel characters, it depends on my mood and if someone asks about it.

(Also, I'm not a native English speaker so if you see something that doesn't look exactly right, tell me, I promise I'll thank you.)

* * *

**1\. Bucky/Jemma/Natasha**

Jemma was so _not_ fangirling when she saw the Black Widow appear at the door of HQ with an unconscious Bucky Barnes, aka James Buchanan Barnes, aka Winter Soldier, aka Steve Roger's best friend swung over her shoulder. She _wasn't_ so speechless that she couldn't say anything to them and ended up making frantic motions of "Stop!", "One moment!", "Ohmygowd" and "Just a second". The next thing she knew was that she was running around the base looking for Coulson and spooking the rest of the team.

"Jemma? What are you doing?", asked Skye seeing her coming from Coulson's door, surprise in her face. She must have just reported in.

"No time! Coulson's in, right? Right. Oh my god", was what came out of her mouth before striding into the office without a care.

Coulson was in front of his monitor checking some data and had only time to frown at her and open his mouth before she started speaking.

"Sir. The Black Widow, Winter Soldier. Here. At the door, they're outside waiting. How have they found this place? Oh my god, how am I still alive? Oh my god, SIR!"

Coulson could do nothing but open and close his mouth like a fish but he managed to recover and while he shouted orders through the comms, she slid to the floor. She couldn't entirely compute what had just happened, she needed a bit more time. At the very least the day had started normal: she'd woken up, showered quickly, dressed, had an awkward "Good morning" conversation with Fitz while they had breakfast at the same time at the same table, went through her data... She turn aside from her routine the moment she noticed an anomaly at the HQ's door's sensors, an anomaly because it said there was someone there but the camera didn't show _anything_. Tripp wass with her and suggested maybe there was a problem with the sernsors themselves, so she went down to look it up by herself because she didn't want to get Fitz. That was just awkward waiting to happen.

Who knew, huh?

"Simmons? Are you ok?", said Coulson when he finally appeared to have everything in order, offering her his hand to get up

"Well, not freaking out anymore, sir, but not exactly _finished_ freaking out yet either, sir. If you get my meaning".

"I can imagine", he said with a smile. "Well, don't worry, just go down to the lab and calm yourself, we got everything sorted already. I don't anticipate needing you but, well..." , he winced "we know how our expectations usually end up".

Jemma snorted. Yes, she knew.

This time it took more than she expected for those expectations to be put to the test but, in the end, it was not a question of "will it happen", just of "when". So, when Jemma was finally called she was already prepped up and with everything nicely arranged and tidy. Ready for consumption, as they say. The infirmary was stark white, as was customary, and it was easy to locate Barnes, he was like a huge dot in a white sea, even with the nice silver of the metalic arm offering some kind of common ground. She went to check on the monitors but couldn't stop herself and ended up getting caught looking at his face. And what a handsome face, at that.

Coulson said that the problem was that he probably had a concussion, or so Romanov thought, so it wasn't a good idea for him to be dozing, half-asleep, dead to the world or otherwise. Which would require Jemma to be extremely cautious when waking him up, she didn't want to end up dead. Still, she couldn't help tracing her cheek softly with her finger.

"He really looks like the male version of the Sleeping Beauty, pity he has to wake", he looked so peaceful like this.

"Perhaps, just like her, he needs some kind of incentive. A song, maybe?", said a voice from behind her, where she was_ sure_ there wasn't _anyone_.

Natasha Romanov stood just by her side when she turned and she went to apologize but the words just wouldn't come out. The assassin was looking on to Barnes with a strange kind of affection mixed with bitterness and such a raw _ache_ that it made her head spin. Then she actually stoped and what Agent Romanov had said got to her brain. It matched with what a part of the writing on her right wrist she'd been born with said. _Her soulmarks_.

She'd spent the better part of her life wondering what would prompt one of her soulmates to ask her that question. It was indistinctly indeterminable and imposible to imagine. It was clear she spoke before them, or so she had assumed until now, but it lacked a definite clue that would be able to help her narrow down the possilities in which she would meet that one soulmate. The time she hadn't spent trying to understand the sentence, she'd invested in being always up to date in the latest musical hits and trying to come up with ways to answer to that. She'd been remarkably successful in the first and understandably unsuccessful in the second.

Thing was, she actually had an answer now.

"Are you really trying to tell me to _sing_ to the Winter Soldier?", she asked really frazzled and a little bit spooked.

The reaction was automatic and quick. Agent Romanov's head turned to her with commendable speed and her eyes widened perceptibly, which was kind of awesome spiring. She'd surprised the Black Widow, and she would probably have been one of the only two people in the world capable of doing it.

"What... what have you said?", she whispered, coming as close as she could to her.

"Are you asking me to sing to the Winter Soldier, Agent Romanov?", Jemma managed to say while trying to mask her nervousness.

The asssassin's eyes narrowed and she turned her around to look upon the sleeping soldier.

"Yes".

"...what?"

"Do it. Sing. But sing _to him_", the last two words were obviously highlighted and Jemma's eyes widened impossibly. It couldn't be.

"Do it", Agent Romanov insisted.

And Jemma thanked the gods that she was currently obsessed with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and its soundtrack because she had the perfect song for this moment. So she approached the hospital bed and laid her hands in the sleeping soldier's metalic arm softly, trying to anchor herself to reality. Her voice was vacilant at the beginning but it got strong as the lyrics advanced.

_In the morning by the sun_

_as the fog clears from the sand_

_I have no money in my hand,_

_I have no home, I have no land._

_But it doesn't trouble me_

_as I lay beside the fire,_

_I am easy to inspire,_

_there is little I require._

_I wasn't yours and you weren't mine,_

_though I've wished from time to time,_

_we had found a common ground,_

_your voice was such a welcome sound._

_How the emptiness would fill_

_with the waves and with your song,_

_people find where they belong_

_or keep on._

By the end her voice was nothing more than a whisper because grey eyes were watching her intently and it wasn't needed anymore. She was waiting for what she hoped was coming next, breath held and fingers clenched in the white hospital sheets.

"¿Could you finish it,голу́бушка?"

"Для Вас? Всегда", Jemma choked out faced with the astonished look the soldier was giving her. God, she'd learned russian for this man and he didn't even know.

But as she seated herself in the hospital bed with one of his hands in one of hers and the other one clenched between the redheads, she decided she didn't care. She could always tell him later. They had the rest of their lives to share.

_Through the never-ending maze_

_where the way is seldom clear_

_there is no map or compass near,_

_I drive a ship I cannot steer._

_Through the bleak and early morn_

_where a stronger will is sworn,_

_where the moments move so slow_

_and seem to never let you go._

_When my hands are old and ache_

_and m memory flickers dim,_

_and my bones don't hold my skin,_

_there's no placce I haven't been._

_I recall the days were few,_

_that is all that I can do,_

_feel the carvings in the tree_

_that gives shade for you and me._

* * *

P.S: The song is The Wolves &amp; The Ravens from Rogue Valley.

BTW, I know Spanish, Italian, German, English, French and a little bit of Japanese but I honest to god have no idea about Russian, so if there's something wrong with the four words I've included please tell me.

"голу́бушка?" my dear?

"Для Вас? Всегда" For you? Always.


	2. Chapter 2

**2\. Clint/Skye**

Skye always wondered, since she was of conscious age, what kind of person would say "Hun... wha, uh?" in their first meeting with their soulmate. At first she was convinced her soulmate was going to be a drunk and she'd be the one to lay one on him/her for being such a dumbass, then she thought her luck had probably gained her someone with mental deficiencies. When she reached fifteen she tentatively thought that maybe she'd become someone so beautiful with age that her soulmate had been speechless by the mere sight of her. That line of thought didn't last much though, because she finally reached the conclusion that she'd left them speechless thanks to her charming personality and witty disposition. Or the other way around.

So she thought out a plan and put it into action. She adopted sarcasm as her usual way of talking and started talking only if she had something noteworthy to say. Still she didn't find them and by the time she joined SHIELD she decided she didn't care when they came, she'll be waiting but not pressuring herself to do things a certain way. Besides, the action being an agent provided her was more than enough to keep her going.

Then one day things changed.

"Skye, I need your help with something", Coulson was standing at the door to the training are and, didn't he seem a bit pale?

"Sure, AC, give me a sec", she said.

Cleaning herself of the sweat with a towel was quick enough that she didn't take long to join him.

"What's up? Do you have another mission?"

"Kind of. I just think I've commited a mistake and I don't know how bad it is", he winced. That wasn't good.

"What happened?"

"Director Fury left me some things to look into and let's say when I opened them they sent some kind of signal. I might have accidentally revealed our position", he said opening the door to his office and going straight for the computer monitor. "It wouldn't be so bad if the people the signal went to didn't think me dead."

"What?"

"Yes, you see, I'm pretty sure the signal went to Tony Stark seeing as the file I was looking into was about his suits. I was looking for a way to include the reactor technology in the icer so they'd had two modes, thought it'd make Fitz happy to work on it. But I'm pretty sure there was a hidden program that'd get activated at the opening of the files. Here, take a look."

The screen showed pretty clearly what to her seemed the schematics of one of Stark's suits but what interested her was the line of code that run the right side of it. She took the portable keyboard and looked at the actions the computer had made and, there it was. A signal from a program that definitely wasn't in their systems bedore. She cut access to the internet as it seemed the program was still active and proceeded to dismantel it.

"Well, there we have it, this was made by Stark with a capital yes. How did you know?", she asked Coulson curiously.

"I supposed Stark was the only being in the planet who would rig his archives with spy programs", he shrugged. "So what do we have?"

"What we have is an extremely good luck because the program was built to only send a signal to Stark and not hack us, or plant bugs or copy our archives. And I'd say we're extremely lucky to not have them already at the door. But considering he's Stark I wouldn't hold much hope. Shall we evacuate The Playground?"

Coulson started thinking but at the end didn't appear to have reached a positive conclusion. He sighed.

"No, this base is irreplaceable, we can't lose it. We'll wait and, I guess, leave the doors open. He won't come alone so I just hope someone more reasonable comes with him. Tell May to come see me and inform the others, we don't have much time until they're here", he ordered then turned to look into his other files.

It was only when she got to the lounge's door that she realized she'd be meeting Tony Stark, TONY, STARK. She so was going to tell Fitz before he heard it from the others. And if she let out a screech of glee in a side room before going into the lounge, well, no one had to know.

Four hours, an interminable number of coffee cups, giggling and histerics after, a quinjet and a red and gold garishly painted robot landed in the rooftop, where May was waiting. Skye got the impression she wasn't very impressed with their entrance because Stark took the armour off almost immediately and the quinjet stopped being visible a couple of seconds after. Technically she was supposed to stay hidden and observe, to provide another point of view in the proceedings and, well, just in case something went wrong.

"Well, you've got an interesting base here", said Stark following May into de lounge, which the team had vacated mere minutes before. Behind him marched Hawkeye, Black Widow and Captain America. Coulson was going to have an aneurysm. "Looks like a piece of crap from the outside but, hey, it's pretty decent."

"I'll be sure to take that into account, Mr Stark. I'm sure we can improve it", said Coulson's voice from the door with a little smile that almost managed to seem happy.

The response that garnered was almost funny if one didn't take into account how bad things could turn very quickly. The Black Widow and Hawkeye turned around fast and while one got out her gun the other put himself in position with his bow. Captain America was obviously dumbfounded and Tony Stark was alternatively open and closing his mouth while pointing to Coulson. Skye was honestly hoping Koenig was getting this recorded.

"Surprise?", winced Coulson while shrugging and she had to stop a snort from getting out and revealing her position.

"Surprise? That's all you got to say?", Coulson's question seemed to have shocked Hawkeye out of his stupor and his face was turning very red very quickly. "What the actual fuck, Coulson?! You've let us think you were dead for over two years and all you have to say is "Surprise?"?!"

"Actually, it was only for a year because I wasn't capable of doing much before that...", Coulson tried to say.

"I don't care! I trusted you, with my life! You were the reason I joined S.H.I.E.L.D and you know it, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you! I trusted you like I've ever only trusted Natasha and it took me years to let myself do it. And now you pull this shit and I only know because you hacked Stark's computers which means you weren't going to tell us or you'd have done so already and I almost didn't come because I've had a shitty week and I had to force Nat to accompany me and I didn't think it was important enough to give it any attention and I ended up coming because I thought this was going to be a HYDRA base and I could let out some steam!", Hawkeye had worked himself up pretty quickly and even though Coulson was wincing a lot Skye thought he needed to hear it. He'd been thinking of himself as some kind of machine lately with the only purpose of bringing S.H.I.E.L.D to life out of the ashes and he needed to know there were people out there who cared for him. Skye hadn't known Hawkeye was one of them and though some of the words were pretty bad maybe they'd do some good.

"Clint, I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you, Fury said..."

"Fuck Fury, Coulson! And fuck you too! You were one of the only two people I've ever cared about since I ran away from the circus! So what if it was protocol?! So what?! You should have said something, you've had time enough for it! And what were you doing in the meantime? Doing missions and living the life and just not caring, right? Otherwise we'd had known."

Okay, that Skye didn't like, he was entering dangerous territory and Coulson was looking utterly heartbroken. If Hawkeye didn't have care with what he said she was going to have to intervene. Coulson was their Director, after all, and he'd been AC before.

"I'm sure she knew, your cellist. She was important enough to tell", Hawkeye said viciously.

Ok, that was it. No one had a right to laugh at his no-thing with Audrey.

She let herself fall from the rafters in front of Coulson and adopted a protective and aggresive posture.

"That's enough, you Hawkass!", she shouted in his face. Her hands on her hips spoke volumes and a look towards Stark had him with his hands in the air trying to not so subly elbow the Widow into toning down her glare. The good Captain seemed to be speechless still. "I'd shut up my mouth if I were you. Have you maybe considered that there was a reason for not telling you anything? Did you know that Coulson spent 8 months recuperating from New York? And for your information, he really was dead that time, it wasn't a ruse."

"Skye, don't, they don't need to hear how fucked up I am", Coulson tried to warn her.

"Oh, no, they definitely need to hear this or they'll be hanging it over you head forever. And besides, don't think I haven't seen that photo of you three that you keep hidden in your desktop with an encryption better suited to highly dangerous data", she wiggled her eyebrows. It was that photo with the Black Widow and Hawkeye that he never disposed of that had helped her keep her hope he'd survive all the mess with the symbols. She turned again towards the Avengers present, taking note but dismissing Hawkeye's dumbstruck expression. "So yes, he was dead and director Fury pulled a big one when he decided to inject him with a dose of alien blood to make him come back to life, which he apparently didn't want, and which appart from hurting a damn lot, almost sent him crazy. So, you don't get to judge too harshly until you know all the facts. Any question?"

Stark looked like any number of questions would be too little and the Black Widow was looking at Hawkeye as if expecting him to pronounce himself first. The only thing that came out of his mouth were murmurings and babbling to himself, really, could no one in this team hold a conversation?

"C'mon, hun, say something, I know I struck dumb the mayority of people but this is getting a little too much", she arched her eyebrows. But what came out of his mouth she wasn't really expecting.

"Hun... wha, uh?"

Tell me he hasn't said what I've heard him say, she thought. But the sight of the Back Widow facepalming herself behind them belied that possibity. So, her soulmate was Hawkeye. Though, was he? Maybe he had another person's words in him somewhere.

"Tell me you're not my soulmate", she said to a gawping Hawkeye, who immediately acted really offended and then turned red with her next words: "God, my soulmate can't string two words together if they're not cuss words."

"Hey, I'll have you know I can talk perfectly well!"

"Yes, well, you didn't spend all your life with babblings in you arm. I came to the conclusion that I was so amazing that you were without words and it so happens that it was just me giving my soulmate a tongue lashing", she looked down at him, somehow ignoring that he was taller than her.

Muffled laughs from Iron Man and Black Widow made her turn her head and give them a glare, which prompted Coulson to take them aside to give them some space. "So, Phil... that photo...", she heard the Widow say and Coulson squeak a reply. She turned to Hawkeye.

"Well, what now?"

He was scratching his nape in thought but finally sticked his hand out.

"Clint Barton, Hawkeye, Agent of SHIELD level 7, or at least I was, Avenger, 43, male, joker, archer, I like to climb furniture and into air vents and I'm a little thick", this last thing was said with a little wince, testament to how it hurt his pride to aknowledge it.

She looked him over and then took his hand in hers.

"Skye, no last name, though my psychotic father would tell you different, Agent of SHIELD, level 1, 25, female", she arched her eyebrows with amusement, "hacker, ex-affiliated to the Rising Tide, half alien I suppose, I produce earthquakes, don't touch my laptop."

Hawkeye, no, Barton whistled.

"That's an impressive list."

"We have to start somewhere, right?"

* * *

Here I am again, guys! I'm sorry it took me so long to update but I had a busy last week at the university and then I fell ill and even though I had this half done for almost a week I couldn't find it in me to finish it. Unil now.  
Dates and facts like Clint's and Skye's ages and levels are taken from the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki so I don't know exactly if they're wrong or not, I got the feeling Coulson was out of commission for like 8 months and not an entire year but I wasn't able to find it in the series so I went with what they said in the webpage.

Also, this is for MarvelAvengers4, who asked for this pairing on FanFiction. I hope you like it! ^^ I've already planned the next two stories, which are also going to be about first words written on skin and then we'll change soulmarks. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**3\. Darcy/Phil**

Darcy had always known her soulmate was going to be older than her. After all, she was born with her soulmark already etched on her skin. But it wasn't something that really bothered her. When she was a naïve little girl she thought her soulmate was going to be like one of those princes that saved princesses in fairytales, so it was alright. Her soulmate was older and more experienced so he/she would be able to protect her better. As time passed and her parents divorced she decided princesses didn't need princes to survive and took it upon herself to become a prince of her own. That way she'd probably get the dragon as a soulmate, that, things considered, was admitedly much more cool than getting a measly prince easily roasted by the fire. She could be the prince no problem, she'd be the one to make the dragon more sociable. In return the dragon would let her ride him and they'd soar through the skies. It was as she was reaching adolescence that she really paid attention to what her Mark said. She was happy that her "_Did you sing this?_" wasn't a "_Hey, you! What the hell are you doing?_" or a rude catchphrase, as had happened to a couple of her more unfortunate school mates, but it still was too open to interpretation. Would he meet him at a concert? At a talets agency? Maybe he'd be her music teacher at some point in her life and he would marvel at her amazing prowess?

There was only a problem with whatever she was cooking up on her mind: she wasn't interested in music whatsoever and she didn't sing. Well, she sung the "Happy Birthday" very well but apart from that... did that mean he was going to be making fun of her? Oh, no, no way.

And that was how Darcy Lewis decided to swim in deep into the music world and ended up unwittingly enchanted by which she pretended to conquer. Music was just too strong an opponent, she reasoned.

With the passing of the years Darcy learned about all kinds of music, learned the scales, became enamoured by rock, pop and jazz and even the rare classic found itself safely nestled between her lungs in her heart. There was too much to love and that was what Darcy loved most about music. It was like getting lost in onther worlds and not only being able to see it but hear it too, enjoy it as if she was there herself. She tried to join a band in high school but it didn't work very well. From a technical point, Darcy was able to sing just about anything, music flowed out of her pores, but she wasn't constant. In complement to what she listened to, her own style of music was a mixture of everything she learned. She could just as soon be singing rock than the next second she'd changed flawlessly into a small melody. It was incomparable, yes, but it wasn't something that would complement well a certain style, whichever it were.

And so, Darcy left behind the idea of meeting her soulmate in a talents agency and continued on her own path to discover what she really wanted to do. Because it wasn't as if she had an idea about that either. As her father often said, she flowed with the wind wherever it went and it was only on occasion that she knew where she was headed.

In the end controversy called her and she decided to study Law. It didn't suit her that much, but she felt she'll make a difference in the world and, maybe, when she tired of it, she could conquer the Earth.

o o o

Jane Foster was like that cat she always wanted to own, but was forbidden for the mental scarring the poor animal could suffer in the process. She was as cute as one, as proud, as sure of what she wanted, as intelligent and just as chaotic and moody as a cat would be. Where a cat would find every space it could crawl, would sharpen its claws in the sofas and would eat if and only if it wanted; Jane would create tunnels with her papers that she'd later walk on looking for specific data, would wear and simultaneously cut horrifying clothes in the name of science and would try to bite her if she tried to feed her. It really was like having a pet, a misvehaving but deceptively adorable pet.

Or like taking care of a cactus.

But in the end taking care of Jane was strangely rewarding, so she decided against complaining. Besides, it left her with an incredible amount of free time to listen to her iPod and compose new lyrics for old songs. Lately she'd been taken with a violinist the name of Lindsay Stirling and the thought of maybe putting words to all those enchanting notes tickled something inside of her into a warm and fuzzy buzz. And that was what she was doing in the front of Jane's wagon when the strangely-and-dangerously-coloured cloud started to shine and the two of them plus Eric started a race against strange weather phenomena to get to a drunken hazard of a man. A man she tased, of course, because who could asure her that he wasn't a druggie, huh?

The said man ended up being a very musculed man, and very atractive at that, so she didn't have any problem with him walking around in jeans. But Jane had and sadly those biceps ended up covered.

"So, say Thor, have you already found your soulmate?", asked Darcy curiously. It wasn't that she wanted him, oh, no, but Jane was very taken with him and maybe they could have a tumultuous summer romance romance. One rhing that she didn't envy at all about Jane is that her now friend/private-genius/cactus didn't have a Mark. It was extremely rare but it happenes sometimes when your soulmate died before you were born or when they hadn't been born yet. Jane said it wasn't important, that she didn't care, but Darcy knew otherwise.

"My soulmate? Oh, you mean my Mate!", he said brilliantly. What was he, an animal? "No, I haven't yet, but I know they're out there and when I do, I'll know".

How cute, he was like the little puppies in the Scottex advertisements.

"Well, of course, you'll know, what with the Mark and all. If it's not being too nosy, what does yours say?", asked Darcy.

Big guy seemed confused though.

"Marks?"

"Yeah, big guy, Marks. Your Mark, your Soulmark, what does it say?", then she moved the hem of her shirt down to show her collarbones decorated with a fine line of writing. "Mine says "_Did you sing this?_", which is a bit strange for the first words you speak to anyone but well, I'm strange myself so I can't complain."

"I... don't have that", he said looking curiously at her Mark. Strange, he didn't seem to have seen one before. "We do things differently in Asgard", but of course. "In Asgard you don't know your Mate until you feel it, you have to talk to that person and get to know them to find out if they are your Mate."

The only thing Darcy understood is that Thor didn't have a Mark. Like Jane. Chance!

"Well, Jane doesn't have a Mark either, you know?", she said and watched as Thor perked up and a gleam of hope appeared. Perfect. "Maybe she's your soulmate but even if she isn't she is a reraaaaally good girl. Woman. But I warn you, hurt a hair on her head and I'll tase you to kingdom come and back. And then I'll tase you again and roast you by the fire. Not that I know how to roast anything but you get my drift", she narrowed her eyes threateningly.

Thor got serious instantly.

"Of course, Lady Darcy. I would never hurt the Lady Jane, you have my word, and were I to do so, you have my permissn to seek retribution on her behalf".

Riiiight.

"Glad you understand, big guy. Now let us procure ourselves a plate of scrambled eggs, I'm starving", she remarked.

Later she realized that maybe, just maybe, Thor was rubbing off on her in his way of speaking and making her unearth all that odious terminology she had managed to forget after passing every single subject. Damn.

After getting a good coffee at the local bar and seeing big guy smash a mug of it on the ground like some neanderthal Darcy considered her quota of the day for strange things met. She realized she was wrong when they got back to the building they were working on and found a bunch of strange auits taking their things away. She let Jane have it out with them while she went inside to see what was left. The answer was almost nothing. They'd taken everything they saw and only left behing articles of clothing and little else. She stood there thinking about their belongings when suddenly she remembered she'd left behind (for once in her lifetime) her iPod because it was getting low on batteries.

Oh, not her iPod.

She run outside but by the time she reached the others the suits had already left in their vans.

"Damnit, you big bullies! Give back my iPod!", she shouted after them, getting no answer.

"Darcy?", Jane asked from behind, obviously still upset.

"They took my iPod, Jane, my iPod! I'd just finished recording that version of _Beyond the Veil_ I told you about!", her eyes widened. "Oh, no, what if they erase everything in it just because it could contain dangerous files?! Jaaaaane!"

"Shh, it's alright, don't worry, we'll get everything back. I'm sure. After all, half of the data they took they won't understand so they'll come back crawling to us", Jane said trying to console her. She gave her a few awkward pats in the back. "And what would they want with your iPod exactly? The most damage they would do would be to copy your songs".

Darcy opened her eyes wider.

"That's BAD!"

"Maybe they'll give you feedback?", Jane winced.

Darcy pouted but knew she couldn't do anything so she set her shoulders back and decided that the next time she saw that suit that was talking before with Jane she'd shout in his face until her iPod was back in her hands. Yes, that was a good plan. And if it didn't work at least it would give her the satisfaction of seeing his suffering face until she run ot of air. Which was very difficult to do.

o o o

After everything happened she had succesfully attained a dog for the first time in her life then gave it away, she'd fought (unfruitfully) with a very angry creepy robot, watched a real god gain back his super powers from Hell after dying by the hand (or head) of said robot and seen said robot be defeated by said god. It had resulted in an eventful day to say the least. Then she saw him.

The iPod stealer.

The iPod stealer suit.

Oh, he was going to get it.

"You! IPod stealer!", she shouted from ten meters away to a shocked agent who'd just been left with his mouth open by Jane and Thor flying away. He looked shocked by her appearance. "Yes, I'm talking to you! Do you know how many hours went into compiling all those playlist and recording version after version of song after song?! Thousands! Yes, I've made the math, I'm a scientists babysitter, I know math. That said, you had no right to take that baby from me, it had nothing to do with Jane's investigation so it was out of you jurisdiction", when she saw the other opening his mouth she shot him down immediately. He was going to suffer. "And yes I know what I'm talking about, I may not have finished my degree but that's only because I'm missing a few credits, which I'm working on now, so you have no leg to stand on to affirm that I don't know what I'm talking about-"

A hand was suddenly tapped onto her mouth and she grew red. How dare he! And yet, when she went to take it off, she couldn't even move it a milimeter away. Meanwhile, the other had taken something out of his pocket and was pushing some buttons. Was that...? It was her iPod! The little machine was put before her eyes as the hand returned to his owner and Darcy raised an eyebrow. The song shown was her new version of _Beyond the Veil_, something she'd been working on on and off for two weeks.

"Did you sing this?"

Darcy froze. Was it possible that this guy was her soulmate? The other, seeing her face, straightened his posture.

"I'm sorry our introduction happened this way, I really didn't have this in mind when I thought about how I would meet my soulmate. I knew I was going to steal your iPod", he chuckled, "but not under what circumstances. I confess your turned me into a bit of a thief, every iPod I saw I took just in case the owner was you. And, well, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Philip Coulson", the last bit was delivered with a raised hand for her to clasp.

She stared. She'd always known she was going to get a soulmate older than her but she never thought she'd get someone so... distinguished. He was a suit alright, that poker face was a sure sign. Her mother would be laughing her face off all the way to Colorado the moment she told her. But he really looked good, he'd probably be... what? Fourty five? Fifty? He looked so unassuming and yet, Darcy knew very well that the most unassuming were often the good ones. Uh oh, she must be taking to long to answer because he was lowering his hand.

"I know I'm not the most impressive and I would understand it perfectly if you think we should keep our relationship platonic but I'd like you to tell me now before-"

"What are you talking about?", she cut him immediately and in a second crossed over and swung her arm into his. "You're not the most impressive, yes, but you'll do for a dragon."

"A dragon?", Coulson raised an eyebrow at the words and the gesture.

"Yup! Always wanted to have a dragon since I was little and decided there was no princess in my very own fairy tale. I was the prince so my soulmate could only be the dragon."

"Didn't like the witch?", he asked amused.

"Didn't like the witch. So, are you my dragon?", she asked getting on her tiptoes.

"I think I could find myself a couple of horns somewhere", he answered as he leaned in.

Later, when the agents had already left and she was organizing the equipment with Jane, she asked her about Agent Coulson and what she thought of him.

"Well, he's my soulmate, can't exactly hate him, you know?"

"But doesn't he seem too... serious?", Jane asked a bit unsure.

"Nah, he smiles plenty to me. Besides, he said he'll take me to meet Audrey Nathan next week, how cool is that!"

"Who?"

"Really, Jane, she's a cellist. An amazing cellist. And he's been friends with her for years, almost family", Darcy smiled wide. "Can't wait to meet her."

* * *

So, I came back! I'm so happy to finally be able to update this. I was really neck deep in exams and only recently did I finish the last one and received the last one of my notes. Then I had to go and take the Cambridge Proficiency Exam like the massive masochist I am xDDDD I get the results in April so there's still a ways to go.

But well, this is the third chapter, but I'll also upload the fourth and fifth chapters so I'll ad whatever I have to say individually about all of them. This is a Darcy/Coulson pairing of my own choice and I don't know if I said it but I'll be doing the suggested pairings in the even numbers. Ex: 2, 4, 6, etc. So, I have a deep appreciation for this two but I don't know if I managed to capture their dynamics well and above all I wanted to capture Darcy's spirit, so you'll tell me. I hope you like it.

By the way, the song mentioned is "_Beyond the Veil_" from Lindsay Stirling, a violinist I deeply admire, you should check her out if you have the time.


	4. Chapter 4

**4\. Leo/Natasha**

It happened on the evening they were supposed to board the Bus. Leo was taking inventory of all the equipement they were going to take with them and Jemma was double-checking everything they packed just in case.

"Have you seen the Dwarfs, Jemma? I can't find them anywhere but I swear I saw them in this table, near the molecular specter and... Damn!", cursed Leo when, just as he was turning around, his foot got caught in the table's leg and he went down. A soft laugh behind him signaled that Jemma wasn't conmiserate towards his predicament and Leo's ears went red at the same time he turned to glare at his friend. "Yeah, yeah, laugh at my misfortune. Leo's very funny."

"Oh, don't be resentful, Fitz, it was just a tumble", Jemma said clearly amused. Then she got a startled look in her face, "Oh, Fitz! I forgot that we needed to hand in a report before we started packing! Something or other on electron collisions for Agent Daniels."

"That one that's always turning his nose up at us because we don't have any field experience?", grumbled him as he got up the floor.

"Just so, and I call dibs on it, so you'll be the lucky one to have a one of a kind opportunity to bask in his presence", she smiled while locating said report and handing it over with commendable speed.

"Oh, yes, lucky me", glared him.

Still, there was no arguing with Jemma so it was with dread that Leo went to meet with the damn level seven agent and prepared himself to get verbally chewed like he was chewing gum. He was so distracted that he didn't realize there was someone getting out of Agent Daniel's office and managed not to trample said person by a very thing margin thanks to them sidestepping them just in time. The consequences though were that he was, once again, sprawled down in the floor. Leo groaned and an amused almost-not-but-there came from above him. It was a red-headed woman, petite but not quite, just on this side of seeming innocent without really appearing so. Leo shot to his feet so fast he thought he'd make himself dizzy.

He knew her, of course he knew her. He'd never seen her face to face but everyone within S.H.I.E.L.D. knew who was Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, member of the legendary (if you could call legendary something that was still in action) Team Strike Delta, now an Avenger after the happenings in New York and all arund amazing woman that could kill you with her pinkie and rip a guilty confession of just about anything without even touching you. Actually, now that he remembered, Coulson had warned them about her. She was a curios animal, he said, and incredibly insightfull; so if someone was able to guess that Coulson was still alive, it would be her. Also, Coulson had been Team Strike Delta's handler, so that was an added problem that factored in. As Fury didn't want any other people than the ones that had clearance to know about Coulson's miraculous recovery and Agent Romanoff was sure to blab first to Agent Barton and then to Stark, just to be vicious, and he would be sure to share the news with any living being within hearng distance... Well, lets just say they better not say anything on the matter.

The obviously amused redhead was bending over (ohGod) to take his report off the floor and Leo had to remind himself that the woman in front of her was incredibly dangerous when she straightened and handed it over with a quirk of the lips.

"A-agent Romanoff!" managed to say Leo with just a little stutter. "I'm so very sorry, I wasn't paying atention and I didn't see you!"

"No harm done, junior, just remember to be more aware from here on out. Another might not have been so lucky and you may have been squashed."

The shock of hearing the sentence he'd had engraved since birth in the inside of his wrist made Leo stand stock still for a long moment and by the time he realized what had happened, Agent Romanoff wasn't anywhere in sight. But, why hadn't she recognised him? Yes, sure, there must be a lot of bumbling idiots in S.H.I.E.L.D. that spent half their lifes apologizing to her, but she should have at least waited a little bit to see if he was her soulmate, right? The possibility of them not being sulmates didn't even enter his mind. Who else would have spoken that sentence to him but her in this specific situation? Unless she hadn't realized or, at worst, didn't want someone like him for a soulmate...

"Agent Fitz! What on Earth are you doing standing there like an idiot?", startled him suddenly. Agent Daniels was standing in the jamb of the door with a look in his face that said he'd seen everything and was enjoying his embarrasmentnt tremendously. Leo kind of wanted to punch him in the face but he couldn't say anything so he just marched right into said office like a soldier marches to battle and decided to leave the questions abou his soulmate for later.

o o o

There was no later. Leo and Jemma boarded the Bus and it was only there that Leo had time to tell his best friend about his soulmate's discovery. She was very supportive and quick to reassure him that Agent Romanoff could hope for no better person in her life, that it was surely some misunderstanding on her part. Hadn't he stood still without saying anything at her response? Maybe she thought he was afraid of her or didn't want to put him in danger, him obviously not being a Field Agent. Things got very dangerous out there for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. There were many reasons they could give for why she hadn't stayed to discuss with him that they were soulmates. But in he end they were just words, there was only one truth out there and just one person in possession of it.

Leo gathered all of his feelings about the matter and shut them in a cage inside his heart. It wasn't forgetting, just a temporary plaster to not bleed out in between bouts of not seeing her. Which was incredibly rare. By the time he had spent four months in the Bus he resigned himself to never see her again. Yes, he could have relayed a message to her but soulmates were not something you talked about on an e-mail. He he poured all of himself into work, only opening Agent Romanoff's cage on the rare ocasion they touched down.

Then HYDRA happened. Ward happened. He died. Or it sure felt like it. That was when hope disappeared. He was an invalid. Who would want someone who couldn't string a sentence together for a soulmate? Tremors run through his hands making seemingly sime tasks a hardship fit for a Level 8 mission. It was pathetic, he was pathetic. But even then, Leo couldn't stop himself from thinking about her. He searched for footage on the Triskelion debacle and downloaded all files available about her. Then with Skye's help erased everything. Her story was hers, it was private and noone had the right to see it without permission. Except him.

He couldn't help himself. He wanted to help her, to protect her in the only way available to him. But even him was only human, so he ended up looking. He read everything and learned it by heart, from her birth date (1928) to her family's names to how many years she spent in the Black Widow program (58) to when she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. (2003) thanks to whom (Clint Barton). Then he found it. A very detailed picture of her forearm, horribly burned in patches where there should be words. Her soulmate words. Could it be...? He still remembered like it was yesterday the words he had spoken to her so it was a matter of seconds to write them down in his shaky handwriting and compare one to another. They matched perfectly and Leo let out the air he didn't know he was holding. Her file said it had been burned out when the russians first got her, more than 60 years ago, and then had brainwashed her until she forgot them. She never remembered what they said and believed her soulmate dead or an old and decrepit WWII survivor.

She had been tortured before but she was an extremely resourceful woman. How was he supposed to be the perfect match for such an amazing being? Then again, the perfect match is supposed to be, well, perfect, for a reason. Right? Leo looked at his hands, trembling not only from the after effects of Ward's treason but also from nerves and excitement. He thought about Mack, who was giving his all to help him, who was the only one to really help him out of all the team, who was making an effort to treat him like the human being he was. He closed his hands into fists. Maybe it was time he gave it his all also.

o o o

They saw each other again much later, when Leo had lost Mack and Skye was struggling to get a hold of her powers. The loss of Mack, to whom Leo had told his situation with Agent Romanoff and in whom he had leaned, prompted him to share his secret with Coulson and ask for his help. For a long time Leo had shut himself inside and when he recognised he couldn't continue in that venue his first step was telling Mack. But then he had lost him also and he needed that support he'd been lacking since Jemma left. Jemma... Jemma was a hot coal he wasn't jet prepared to touch.

Coulson then had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to reveal to the Avengers the secret of his continued survival (because he wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that when one knew the others wouldn't follow); but in the end he wasn't going to keep two soulmates from meeting each other and Natasha was someone who deserved to have happiness in her life. He issued orders to search for Agent Natasha Romanoff to all agents and a code phrase to deliver to her in case someone saw her. A Captain America forum was the recipient for a private message to LilRed and a professional football coacher confessed his secret love for redheads in an interview.

She was there two weeks after disguised as a tourist in a flowery dress and with a face that promised murder. For the two hours she and Coulson stayed shut in his office the base was home to an intense and unfomfortable silence and only when they came out did everyone breathe easier. Agent Romanoff had a somewhat less tense demeanor and Coulson was smiling.

"Fitz, could you please show Agent Romanoff the new shockers you made? I'll update the rest of the team meanwhile."

Leo nodded, visibly nervous, and led the way to the lab. He'd made those shockers for her following the idea of the icers, making them deliver a discharge of the liquid they used and instantly knocking anyone they were in contact with.

"I remember your face from somewhere, Agent Fitz. Weren't you at the Triskelion before HYDRA?", asked Agent Romanoff from behind, startling him.

"Ah, y-yes, I was dispatched to the Bus just some months before... before HYDRA emerged", he explained as they got to the door of the labs.

They opened and Leo went for one of the tables but didn't take the shockers, which were already prepared to be handed to her, but a carpet file filled with papers. He turned around and bit his lip, just feeling the nerves as she arched a brow.

"Well?", she asked, having obviously seen the shockers on the table.

"I, well, I confess Coulson had an ulterior motive for telling you he was alive", he said and, as he saw her tense, he hurried to continue and reassure her. "It wasn't for anything bad! It's just, I asked him to."

"What?"

"I, I don't know if you remember what you said to me the day I bumped into you in front of Agent Daniels' office but it-it had a proffound effect on me because", he bit his lip again "because you said the words on my soulmate mark."

There was silence until-

"That's impossible."

Agent Romanoff was looking at him with an expression that was a mix of hurt, paleness and determination. Fearing she would leave before he had time to explain his reasoning to her, Leo started speaking with increasing velocity.

"No, it is possible! At first when you didn't react at all to what I said I feared you didn't want someone like me or that you didn't think I was your soulmate. Surely a lot of people have apologized to you before. Jem-one of my friends suggested maybe you didn't want to hurt me because the Avengers have very dangerous lives and a thousand other possibilities. Then HYDRA happened and I managed to find your data and download it before anyone else, Skye helped me erase it from Internet but I noticed there was a mention of your soulmate mark and what happened to it and it got me thinking again", Leo quickly opened the folder and took two papers out, one with a picture of Agent Romanoff's arm and another he'd made himself, and handed them to her, who took them slowly. "I remember what I said to you that day so I wrote it down and... it matches, perfectly."

The assassin was looking at the papers like she was seeing a ghost, or maybe something she'd lost so long ago that she hadn't expected to encounter it ever again. Leo was sure that, had she been anyone else, she would have been trembling everywhere. Instead, what he saw was a marvelous woman going through a difficult time and still managing to do it with dignity and determination.

"Show me", she said determinedly.

"What?", asked Leo stupidly.

"Your Mark. Show it to me."

"Ah, sure", he blushed to the roots of his hair.

His Mark was in his back so he turned and lifted his shirt, keeping it up so she could see it. It was neatly printed in a straight horizontal line that crossed his spine just under his armpits. It was the just high enough that he couldn't almost see it in a mirror, not at all if he looked over his shoulders, and it took a great deal of effort to touch it with his fingertips. He'd been able to see it and read it for the first time when his mother took a photo and showed him.

The fingers sliding across the words were more important than to be reminiscing, though. Leo shivered for an entirely different reason than the cold of the labs.

"Do you remember... what you said?", he asked anxiously some minutes after.

"I do", came clear and softly. Then he was turned around and hopeful eyes looked on his. "Are you really mine?".

"For as long as you still want me", breathed Leo, then he was hauled into her arms and kissed within an inch of his life.

He'd kissed girls before but this was on a completely different level. Contrary to those times, in which he'd been the dominant partner with no clear idea of how to do anything, she was the one in control. And God, that _tongue_... He was as red as was possible to be when it finally ended and he thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. But when she joined her forehead with his and breathed in deeply, he thought maybe he could leave his embarrassment aside for once.

"You can call me Natasha", she said softly.

"Then call me Leo", he answered with a small smile.

"Not Leopold?", she was clearly amused.

"Definitely not Leopold", his smile turned into a grimace.

She chuckled happily. _Natasha_.

* * *

This pairing was suggested by dasserk here on FanFiction and the idea immediately attracted me. It was a pairing that wasn't that worked on, I don't think I've read anything on it and if I have I don't remember right now. So it was novel for me. And, it opened the Pandora's box of ideas. I wanted to work with a meeting that wasn't immediate, two soulmates meeting but not recognizing each other or one of them not recognizing the other and how the other would react. It really was interesting for me and I am really very proud of how it came out.

Though, at the beginning I had them meet in the ground floor at the Triskelion and Natasha would have been accompanied by a bunch of other operatives that idea was shut down and in the end they met outside Agent Daniels' office (who's an OC without importance). I have to say, though, that in all the versions I thought of this chapter Leo ended up on the floor xD


	5. Chapter 5

**5\. Harry/Tony**

Tony's Name appeared on his skin when he was ten years old and was having a bath. It made itself a home on the small of his back and he probably would never have noticed it if it wasn't thanks to the nanny. Maria was delighted with the tiny scribbles that said _Harry James Potter_ but his father didn't appear to enjoy it as much so he learned to not talk about it either, the same he did with almost everything else. Still, Tony was a very smart ten year old and knew it wasn't a good thing not having a Name so he was relieved that night when it made its appearance. He was less delighted when his nanny was sacked for leaking his Name to the press and the rest of the world's Potters started naming their kids Harry and lying on how old they were.

He got a new nanny, of course, but the damage was done and Tony couldn't shake off the feeling that maybe having a Name wasn't such a good idea, which led to him always dressing correctly if for nothing else than trying to make his Name impossible to find for others by mistake. He didn't want people comenting on it. It didn't require that much work, it being were it was, but he couldn't let his pants slip down anymore, which was a total bust.

Going through adolescence Tony found himself enchanted with the idea of physical pleasure, which made him even less attracted to the idea of having to tie himself down to only one someone forever and ever after with sprinkles on top. The mere idea made him nauseous. It was only reasonable then, that when letters started coming from his soulmate at age sixteen he didn't even open them. He didn't destroy them but he found a cookie can and hid them inside. And every letter after got the same treatment until they stopped coming at all. He was twenty one and just a few short months later his parents got into the accident that took their lives. Then Jarvis followed them just a few short months later.

Everything was kind of a blur after that.

He got out of the family home and moved out to Malibu, got into business and followed Obie around like a good little puppie. He was the only one left to him. Or so he considered, as the letters continued to be hidden in that little cookie can that he didn't even know where it was. He went to parties, slept around and generaly got lost in his own world. He was always very careful with his conquests, never showing his back to them, always keeping it covered. Not that people didn't know which his Name was or that it mattered much to him if his supposed soulmate got into trouble, he never even knew him, but somehow, just showing his Name around made him uncomfortable.

Then came Pepper, with whom he thought himself in love, after which Happy came like a hurricane dashing his hopes. No one can compete with a soulmate bond, or so he was told. Then Iron Man and Obie's betrayal, and SHIELD, and Vanko, and Loki and Thor along with the Tesseract and the chitauri, Bruce and Barton and the now Romanov instead of Rushman and Steve Captain America Rogers and the Mandarin, Maya and Killian and finally HYDRA and all the chaos that came with it. Steve left to look for his lost sniper/old buddy/assasin, Natasha left to look for Barton and good old Brucie decided to come visit and lift his spirits in the wake of the chaos HYDRA had left.

It was actually a question from Bruce that made him concentrate on something else but his own destruction via alcohol.

"Tony, I'm sorry to say this but you can't keep like this", he gestured to the tumbler of whiskey in his hands. "I know what you think, that you shouldn't have assisted SHIELD with making those repulsors and you should have found out about HYDRA before and..."

"Of course I fucking damn well should have! I'm Iron Man, Brucie, but of what use am I if I couldn't discover them before all this happened?", he said moving the tumbler violently from side to side.

"And you should have this and that and the other thing and I'm done with this, Tony!", Bruce exploded beside the couch.

"Bruce?", Tony asked uncertainly, not having seen his friend like that ever before and honestly, kind of worried the good doctor had maybe popped a blood vessel because of him.

Bruce sighed before coming to seat himself beside Tony, gently taking the tumbler from unresisting fingers, "You can't keep doing this to yourself, it wasn't your fault in the first place and you blaming yourself is not going to make it any less true."

Tony inclined his head. Maybe he was right but by that time it was an automatic reaction to just blame himself for whatever had gone wrong. Like with Pepper. It wasn't as if it had any time to grow into anything before Happy came crashing down with his soulmate business but it still felt like a failure.

"You can't do a lot right now, Tony. You promised to wait for word from Natasha and Steve before you did anything. Don't you have anything to do in the meantime? Something to distract you for now."

"Well, I could start on a new suit but you and I both know how that is not exactly conductive for keeping my mind occupied. It's all automated process by now. So I suppose by the same reasoning anything mechanical is out too. The problem is, I haven't done anything since I was four. Well, I've made programming before, what with Jarvis and all that but...", he sighed and let his head drop in his hands.

With him in that position for Bruce it was easy to see the edge of his soulmate name and he got pensive. It was an insanely intimate topic of conversation but weren't they looking for something that made him think? There was a riks, though, what if Tony had already knowledge of his soulmate and he wasn't with them for a reason? He supposed there wasn't anything else to do but try.

He brushed a hand over the inventor's back and, getting no adverse reaction, let it rest there. "Tony, I have a question that maybe will spook you but, maybe it's what you're looking for. Thing is, I don't know _anything_ of the subjet relating to you", Bruce winced seeing the way he was phrasing it sounded. Tony looked up from his hands and sent him a confused look.

"Sure, shoot."

"What of your soulmate? Do you know who they are?", Bruce winced again.

It was as if they'd string him from the ceiling, suddenly Tony was straight as an arrow looking ahead with a determined look, and Bruce got the feeling he wasn't looking at the wall.

The truth of the matter was, Tony hadn't had more than a passing thought about his soulmate since the time he decided he was forgoing soulmates in full, and none since Pepper. Pepper was perfect for him and, if she wasn't for him, who could it be? It couldn't be anyone better than her, so he forgot. About his own soulmate. Had he contacted him about it and he hadn't noticed? He turned to Bruce, a look of absolute horror in his face.

"I forgot, Bruce. I forgot about my soulmate."

Bruce wanted to hit him, he really wanted, and who wouldn't want to, but the look on his face was so miserable he couldn't do anything more but hug him and console him. They'd find them and he would apologize and he was going to see nothing wrong had occured to him.

And so it came to be that the search started.

Jarvis was very useful up to a certain point. With the upheaval the reveal of Tony's Name caused there were a lot of Harry Potters lying around and literal thousands of Harrys from the date of his soulmate's birth on. The fakes were very easy to get rid of, specialy since a lot of them had already found their respective soulmates and married. Really, who named their kid as the soulmate of someone famous and expected their offspring to actually go along with it and ignore the fact that they themselves had soulmates to find? Or, at least, that was Bruce's opinion, Tony was more bitter about the matter. After all, even if he hadn't known at the time, as his AI told him, Pepper had had to fend off some of those fakes through the years.

But going back to Tony's real soulmate. The only one that fully met all the requirements was born in Great Britain and, apparently, had disappeared from the system at age eleven. _The same time I lost my parents_, Tony thought. The kid returned every summer to stay with his relatives but the rest of the year was who knows where. And that was another thing, apparently his soulmate was an orphan from the first year of his life, and Tony found himself feeling vaguely guilty. Not that he could have done a lot at eleven years of age himself to save his soulmate the heartache, or at age sixteen when he started receiving those letters...

"The letters! Oh, god, I'm so stupid. Those damn letters!", he said jumping from the sofa in which he was sconced with Bruce looking up data.

"What?", said Bruce a bit blindsided.

"Jarvis, the letters! Where are they! Oh, of course, you weren't alive back then. I got some letters when I was a kid, first at sixteen and on to when I was twenty one. Then they stopped. I was a littlt shit back then, Brucie, and badly behaved. Well, worse than now if you can believe it, -"

"Funny and terrifying thing, I actually can", deadpanned Bruce.

"- so I got a cookie can and hid them there. I didn't even read them", he sagged and looked at his friend wide eyed. "What if he hates me? What am I gonna do?"

Bruce didn't have an answer to that and so silence stretched until Jarvis made an insert.

"If I may be permited, sir. Maybe looking into the belongings of my predecesor might be a good idea."

Of course. The other Jarvis was always in on everything that happened to Tony. He was actually the only one who gave a damn about him as he grew, with the dubious exception, latter crossed of the list, of dear Obie. And they did find them in a box marked as For young Anthony, which made the knife of guilt twist a bit more inside him. Why hadn't he looked into what his old butler had left him before? He felt he was dead when he started reading the letters.

_To Tony_

_Hi, I am Harry and I am your soulmate. I saw you in the telly and I wanted to talk with you._

_I am six but I am very smart, but my teachers don't think so because my aunt tels them I am not._

_I live with my aunt Petunia and my uncle Vernon and my cousin Dudley. I don't like Dudley because he hits me_

_and uncle says he can and he is bad. He wakes me up in the mornings jumping in the stairs_

_and because the cupboard where I sleep is very dusty I sneeze a lot. The spiders too._

_But I saw in the telly that soulmates are allways good to each other and I want to be good so_

_I am writing because I know your very smart and I want to be smart too._

_I want to meet you._

_Harry_

There were eight letters, one per year since the first and two more, the last of them a goodbye. Apparently, he didn't think he'd had time to write from then on because he was going to be very busy studying in a private school his parents had gone to and he didn't think Tony had gotten any of his letters or he didn't care so he wasn't going to send anymore. The letters were full of pleas to come talk to him, to come help him, to take him away, questions about if he would love him and even once, tears. By the end of it Tony couldn't do anything but try to find him and come up with empty hands. It was as if from age seventeen Harry Potter had disappeared. He didn't exist anywhere. And the only thing left to Bruce was try to console his best friend and asuage his guilt.

o o o

On Harry's side though, things were actually looking up. He was the youngest Head Auror ever, though at the time, with thirty four, the novelty had died out; he had an amazing and much too mischievous godson who made his days happy and tiring at the same time; several more godsons and daughters who followed the first in mayhem-making; he wasn't hung up on Ginny anymore and he didn't remember he had a soulmate who'd ignored him for years. That is, he didn't until he was reminded of it.

"You want me to what?", he asked for the fifth time, looking on to Kingsley with incredulity.

Apparently his old friend had deemed it necessary to send him on a diplomatic trip to meet with Nicholas Fury, Director of the american but still worldwide based organization SHIELD. He wanted to meet him on behalf of the Magical Community and the Wizengamot, who, again apparently, deemed him the perfect man for the job. He was supposed to be a warmer point of contact in the magical community, someone more accessible and approachable than the european magical leaders. Something about his "status of hero" appealed to the american.

Said wizard sighed, "I know that I'm asking a lot from you but you're my best man and the best man for the job. Look, the only thing you'll have to do is go to SHIELD and talk to Director Fury face to face, I've already talked with him myself and you won't have to meet with anyone from the Avengers but Steve Rogers, if you even have to." he fixed a serious stare upon him. "This is important, Harry, maybe before it wasn't so much but with what happened in New York and specially London last year, we can't go on with only the Prime Minister, or President of every country being vaguely aware of things. There could be a lot of problems if SHIELD captured one of us with the mistaken belief that we're from out of the Earth. Director Fury will coordinate everything and only tell those with the need to be aware." He received a compasionate look from his friend. "You won't have to see him nor he you."

Harry sighed. So, a visit to SHIELD Headquarters but no need to see or meet that soulmate that all those years ago had ignored his existence. It sounded much too perfect to be true, specially with the fact that he'd wanted to visit the States for a while now, but with his job the pleasure travels were sparse. He'd had this resolve since the last of his letters went on unanswered of not meeting his soulmate because he didn't want to be rejected face to face but, what did it really matter now? Maybe it was time he put on his big girl panties and went to meet the man, if for nothing else that to shut up that little voice in the back of his mind that kept whispering that maybe, just maybe, his soulmate had never read his letters for whatever reason and he was wanted.

He breathed in deeply. Yes, maybe it was time.

"Very well, I'll go."

"You'll go?", Kingsley blinked.

"Yes, but if I find myself regreting it, trust me, you'll regret it with me", remarked Harry with a sharp smirk.

o o o

I'm going to regret this like mad, Harry thought, looking up into the impressive vision that the Triskelion cut against the sun. Still, he had given his word that he'd go, so it was no use complaining now, at the door. He started walking towards the outer gates and gave his name, as well as the fact that he was there to meet with Director Fury. They made him wait a little for a car to take him up to the building but it was inevitable it seemed, security protocol. Harry tried to not think about anything in particular through the ride, which was, admittedly, too short for his poor nerves, and amused himself twisting a piece of what Hagrid called "magic resistant rope", which he had acquired the last time he went by his hut. He found that it made surprisingly less likely that he'd blow up anything electronic in his vicinity with it in his person so he always carried it around with him just in case.

"This way, Mr Potter", said one of the agents that had accompanied him in the vehicle. "Director Fury is waiting for you in his office."

So on he went, following behind the not surprisingly black clad agent until he was ushered into a well lit office where a dark skinned man with an eyepatch waited for him.

"Mr. Potter, it's an honour to meet you", he said before he was presented witha hand to shake. "I'm Nicholas Fury, Dorector of SHIELD."

"So I'm told", he said with an amused smile. "I was starting to think you were taking me to kill me, what with all the escorts."

"Had we wanted to it would have been more obvious", the smirk that appeared on his face said it was all in good fun and Harry felt almost all his reticence dissapear.

What followed where two of the less boring hours of meetings with official people he'd ever had in his life. Nick Fury was someone like he'd never met before: decided, aware of every danger, a little bit (a lot) paranoid, very down to Earth, decided, not into politics... He'd never met a high ranking officer of any sort that didn't in any way enjoy politics. He was more happy now about having taken this trip.

_"It's the final countdown! It's the final countdown! Ohhh!"_

Even he had heard that song and he was an incultured idiot when talking about _muggle_ music, and that was definitely _not_ the original singer. He saw Fury's face twist into an almost painful wince before taking his phone.

"Sorry, just a second. Stark? What the hell do you want? Now it's not a good time."

_Stark?_ Harry panicked inside. _It can't be._ The only time he comes, and he has to appear? Come on! Though, nothing said Stark was going to come, he was just phoning Fury. He must have something he needed from him, that was it. He wasn't going to come, he probably didn't need to come. Right?

"Damn it, Stark! No! Stark? Stark!", the director slammed the phone on the table and rubbed his forehead with a hand. "Sorry for that, Stark is an asshole and I can't stand him but it seems he is on his way here. You don't have to stay if you don't want, Mr. Potter."

Harry was almost hiperventilating by that time but he hadn't imagined what the director had said.

"I know, the Minister told me, in case something like this happened. So you don't want to stay. I don't know why you don't want to meet him and I don't care, it's not my business. So, what do you want to do?"

What did he want to do? He wanted to dissapparate in the spot and end up in his warm home in London, maybe make a firecall to Andromeda and ask her if Teddy could come visit for the afternoon. But he wasn't within apparating distance of his home, he was in the States and he had to make a decision. Did he want to meet his soulmate? Laid to rest all of the doubts he had?

Yes.

So Harry straightened himself and took a deep breath. "It's alright. It had to happen sometime." And he thought that, in some capacity, he needed this.

It took Stark little more that a quarter of an hour to arrive to the balcony of the director's office and take off his armour, folding it in a case. He didn't look very well, he had dark circles under his eyes and a tired expression in his face that was, maybe, a little desperate. He was trying to hide it behind a carefree smile, but it didn't do much.

"Fury, my friend, thank you for letting me come. I know you're very busy but this is very important. I'm looking for someone but I can't seem to be able to finf him, it's as if he doesn't exist, though I know he does. And,- who's this, Nick? I don't need anyone else here, this is a big matter!", he said with a little frown.

"I hope this is important, Stark because yes, I was very busy. And I'm not your friend", he paused for a second, in which Harry stilled himself in preparation. "This gentleman here is Head Auror Harry James Potter, a great ally and someone you may be seeing in the future. I hope..."

He didn't hear the rest. It was just an instant, but in an instant Stark had crossed the office in four long strides and was almost stifling him, so close he was to him. He was looking into his eyes like searching for something and Harry knew he'd found his fear to rejection, but contrary to what he expected he wasn't looking away disgusted, his eyes were filling up with tears and big arms were coming up around him, squeezing him in.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Don't leave, I'm sorry. Please, stay."

And as Harry's arms came to wrap around a big and strong back, there was only one thought in his mind.

I'm wanted.

* * *

I have to confess this chapter was a little concession to myself. I love Harry Potter/Avenger crossovers and in my opinion, there are too few of them so I decided to add my little contribution. It came out much too emotive and I like it but well, in this one I wasn't the one writing, it was writing itself.

You'll notice in this one the premise is different, now it isn't words anymore, but names that people have on their skin. I did say I was going to change premises. So, four chapters per premise and if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm very excited by this one because it seems very simple and I thrive in making things complicated, I just hope I'll be able to entertain you all. I really like reading your toughts on what I write, it makes me very happy ^^ I hope you like it!


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